Rebel cleric condemns beheading
Firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who led an uprising against US forces, condemned militants who have beheaded foreigners in Iraq over the last several months.
“We condemn what some people are doing regarding the beheading of prisoners and it is illegal according to Islamic law,” al-Sadr said at the Kufa mosque south of Baghdad, where he led Friday prayers for the first time in two months.
“Anybody doing this is a criminal and we will punish him according to Islamic law.”
Al-Sadr led a roughly two-month uprising against US forces in Shiite-dominated areas across Iraq beginning in April. On-and-off battles between US troops and al-Sadr’s al-Mahdi militia left hundreds of people dead before a cease-fire was reached in June.
He has repeatedly condemned the presence of coalition troops, but in his sermon today, he took aim at hardline militants who have decapitated at least three foreigners since April in an apparent bid to scare away countries in the US-led coalition and foreign contractors working here.
In Baghdad, a Sunni cleric called on Iraqis to “forget their differences” and work together for reconciliation. Sheikh Ahmed al-Samaraie also called on Iraqis to reject coalition forces.
“All Iraqis have to turn a new page and work together to rebuild their country and reject occupation,” he said in his sermon at the capital’s Um al-Qura mosque.
